Greenfax

Business originally had until December 31st to sign up for this rebate that supplements the Xcel rebate, however funds are still available and applications are still being accepted. Xcel has also extended its 50% rebate on lighting, but only through March, 2012.

In addition to the rebates, the BID can recommend contractors who can finance your retrofit, with payment coming from energy savings realized. The result: you get new energy efficient lighting with no impact to your cash flow during payback. And after payback: 10-40% savings on energy bills. We’ll let you know when this one comes around again!

Here is what’s available now:

Through the Fall and Winter of 2011, rebates of up to $3000 per business for West Colfax Denver Energy Challenge participants. This is in addition to Xcel rebates.

Free retro-fits on projects of limited scope at zero cost to businesses, and free energy audits on projects of larger scope.

The BID is also working with a contractor to allow you to use the savings you will receive each month to contribute towards the initial retrofit cost. This can dramatically reducing your initial investment–often to zero. These incentives are available only for a limited time, and will be issued on a first-come, first served basis until all ARRA funds are dispersed.

Customer Testimonials

After replacing older fluorescents with high-efficiency LED’s at Arctic Pacific Seafood, the owner Alex Kropf found the retrofit well worth doing. The new lighting has “helped tremendously as far as performance . . .we can see everything so much better.”

American Auto Sales has seen their electricity use plummet to 65% of former levels and they are realizing an even greater 40% savings in monthly costs. Mike Haupt, the owner, clearly surprised by the results, stated that he was “very impressed by savings to date as well as anticipated future savings” and by the sustainability results the BID has provided to district businesses.

Energy Challenge Hall of Fame

Econoauto

Saeid Ghaemiat, the owner of Econoauto, is an electrical engineer, so when I approached him about replacing his lot lights, he was the only business owner to have had looked into energy saving lighting. The challenge for outdoor or parking lights is finding a contractor with experience and knowledge about efficient outdoor lighting (as the main line of business for energy conservation electricians is indoor lighting). Three contractors and 6 months later, Saeid is still at it, and exploring alternatives, including one from a manufacturer of outdoor lighting that the BID tracked down. Saied has already installed a demo induction light of his own design to compare with nearby metal halide lights. He will now demo this manufacturer’s outdoor ceramic metal halide lights for the benefit of other auto dealers on the strip. Thanks to Saied’s for interest and perseverance in finding a solution that both saves energy and provides satisfactory lighting.

American Auto

American Auto Sales has seen their electricity use plummet to 65% of former levels and they are realizing an even greater 40% savings in monthly costs, They are taking the lead on energy savings through the Energy Challenge and win the first spot on the district’s hall of fame. Here are some details of their project’s impact:

With the Xcel and GreenFAX rebate, American Auto’s payback took only 7 months, meaning their investment is already providing them monthly savings. By next spring, they will see their investment show a return of 100%!
Annual energy savings will come close to double their annual BID assessment.
Retrofits also reduce 51 tons of greenhouse gases annually.